Page 39 of Dark Truth

“We can call her Charlie. Or him.” She laughed and gave in, as I knew she would.

“No, she’ll be called Caroline. That’s your choice, my dear, and I can’t take it from you.”

“Thank you, Dylan. You’ve just made the day so much better with this. Thank you.”

“Good. I felt terrible about how I’d left you this morning. You were vulnerable, and I just left you standing there. It wasn’t very good of me, but then, I’m not very good at this relationship stuff, as you know.”

“You’re doing just fine, Dylan, don’t worry.” She stretched, yawned, and looked over at me. “Shall we go to bed?”

“If you’re tired, my dear, then you should rest.” I stood, ready to usher her into the bedroom. I’d found this new side of me, that was caring and helpful, now that I knew she was going to have my baby.

“I didn’t say I wanted to sleep, Dylan. I asked if you wanted to go to bed.” That glint was in her eye, and I couldn’t help the response my body gave immediately.

“As you wish, my dear.”

Emily

“I can’t believe we lived through that,” I said as Dylan put the car into drive and drove us away from the resort. At this point, a week after the grand opening, I didn’t care if I ever saw the place again.

“I’ve dealt with irate customers, angry workers, and mishaps beyond belief my entire life, but that city councilman’s wife finding him in bed with a prostitute might have taken the cake.”

“I just knew the reporters would show up at any minute while you were picking this up.” I relaxed into the heated seat of the Audi e-tron, a family car, as Dylan had put it. It was a hybrid car, and he really loved it so far. So did I.

I looked at all the bells and whistles as he drove toward Elmo’s, a night of fun and relaxation planned after a most tumultuous week. “What’s this one do?”

I poked at one of the buttons, and the sound came on. “I think that’s the radio, but I’m not sure.”

“At least we’ve managed to escape for a while. I’ve told them not to call us for anything. We need some time away from that place,” Dylan said and reached over to pat my hand. “You deserve some time off.”

“I think I’ll be taking plenty of time off soon enough, but you’re right. A night away from the resort sounds heavenly.”

We arrived at Elmo’s soon enough, and Dylan led me into the place with his arm at the small of my back. I had on that lovely dress he’d bought me to make up for his less than stellar reaction to my announcement, paired up with a pair of flat sandals. I didn’t care what duchesses across the ocean did while they were pregnant, I wasn’t wearing another pair of heels until this baby was born.

I was far too clumsy to let society dictate to me what I would and wouldn’t wear while I carried a life inside of me. I also didn’t mind that I was so much shorter than Dylan. It made me feel like he was my protector when I subtracted the inches that heels gave me. Of course, he always felt like that to me, which was one of the reasons I loved the man so much.

I thought about his reaction when I sat at a table in the bar area. Roxie was on stage, and her performance was mesmerizing as always, but I couldn’t take my eyes off of Dylan. He’d been so floored by my news that I didn’t think it actually sank in until a few hours later.

I’d been aware that he might react strangely and hadn’t been too upset when he’d carried on with his day. A little excitement might have been nice, but when he came home with all those gifts, and the image of the puppy, I couldn’t have asked for more, really. Corky was now happy behind the front reception desk with two very happy young women to lavish attention on him, happy as a king from the looks of him when we’d left.

That had taken some getting used to, having a new life to take care of, and he’d given every bit of care back with a hundred times the love. He liked the women who ran the front desk at night, so he was happy to stay there, but he’d be happy when we picked him up later.

“Penny for your thoughts,” Dylan said softly as he sat with two glasses. One had a small amount of scotch in it, and the other my now ever-present ginger ale. It was all I wanted to drink.

“I was just thinking about Corky.”

“He’s something, isn’t he? A little handful of love.” Dylan relaxed into his chair and put his legs under the table. “I’m glad we got him.”

“I’m glad you got him too.” He’d already broken the rules by jumping into bed with me. He’d curl up against my stomach until I fell asleep, then he’d wiggle down to curl up behind my legs. It made me smile, even if it wasn’t the best thing to do.

“At least he’s house trained,” I added.

Dylan looked up, and his face changed; a look of confusion changed to curiosity. “Is that Trent walking out?”

He pointed to somewhere behind me, and I turned to look but couldn’t see anyone. “I missed him. I don’t know why he’d be here, though. Jessi wants to come, but she promised she’d come with me first.”

“I guess it wasn’t him.” Dylan didn’t look exactly convinced, and his demeanor had changed. “I’m still not sure if I trust him, but I try for you.”

“That’s all you can do, really, darling. He did a lot to try to damage you here, and the stuff with me … well, it’s best we put it away, but I understand why you can’t get over it.”